Patient should avoid alcohol, coffee, tea, tobacco (including use of nicotine patch), bananas, citrus fruits and strenuous exercise prior to collection. It is preferable for the patient to be off medications for three days prior to collection. However, common antihypertensives (diuretics, ACE inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, alpha and beta blockers) cause minimal or no interference.

SPECIMEN PROCESSING

Specimen processing instructions:

Lab personnel (to be determined per site) will test the pH of the urines and adjust to less than 3.0 using 6N HCl before Referred Testing ships the specimen. Urine without preservative is acceptable if pH is below 6 and the sample is shipped frozen. Record 24-hour urine volume and patient's age on test request form and urine vial.

Transport temperature:

Refrigerated.

Specimen stability:

Room temperature: 10 days. Refrigerated: 14 days. Frozen: 1 year.

TEST DETAILS

CPT code(s):

82570, 84585

Note: The billing party has sole responsibility
for CPT coding. Any questions regarding coding should be directed
to the payer being billed. The CPT codes provided by GML are
based on AMA guidelines and are for informational purposes only.

Test includes:

Creatinine

Methodology:

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

Synonyms:

Quest test code 14555, Vanillylmandelic Acid

Clinical significance:

Urinary vanillylmandelic acid is useful in diagnosing neuroblastoma, one of the most common tumors in the pediatric population